Feminist News

National Moment of Silence Will Remember Victims of Police Brutality

This Thursday, a National Moment of Silence will be held in cities across the country to remember the lives lost and impacted by police brutality. In the wake of two deadly police-involved shootings in less than a week, online activist Feminista Jones and individual Twitter followers were able to coordinate the event in a single day.

Mounting tension over increased acts of deadly force by law enforcement agencies across the country brimmed over this weekend, following only the most recent deaths at the hands of police officers.

Last Wednesday, the Dayton Daily News first reported the shooting death of 22-year-old John Crawford by police at an Ohio WalMart. Ronald Ritchie, another shopper, called 911 after seeing Crawford with an air gun in the store. LeeCee Johnson, the mother of Crawford's children, told the Dayton Daily News she was on the phone with Crawford when he was killed. "He said he was at the video games playing videos and he went over there by the toy section where the toy guns were. And the next thing I know, he said, 'It's not real,' and the police start shooting and they said 'Get on the ground,' but he was already on the ground because they had shot him."

In a statement issued by the St. Louis NAACP, Cornell William Brooks, President and CEO said, "The death of yet another African-American at the hands of those sworn to protect and serve the community where he lived is heartbreaking. Michael Brown was preparing to begin college, and now his family is preparing to bury their child - his life cut short in a tragic encounter with the police." The organization will lead a local vigil in Missouri today, but Brooks called on the community to act "collectively and calmly" while the state and national branches pursued further investigation of the incident.

The #NMOS14 organizers hope Thursday's event will provide some means to channel still-raw emotions. "People are hurting right now. People are angry. People are seeking understanding and compassion," Feminista Jones said in a tweet yesterday. "It is a small gesture (in my opinion) but one that could tangibly unify us, ALL of us, as a launching pad for further action," she said.